


Sequential Serendipity

by MessyInsomniacBookGirl



Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Henry Cavill - Fandom, Henry Cavill RPF, The Witcher (TV) RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gaming, Mentions of World Of Warcraft, Romance, Smut, Swearing, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26772520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MessyInsomniacBookGirl/pseuds/MessyInsomniacBookGirl
Summary: A very nervous Devon Miller attends a real life gathering of her online World of Warcraft group for the first time in the five years she has been part of their guild.Of course there wouldn't be anything for her to be nervous about, were it not for the fact that everyone attending thinks the person behind her character Devillmorne, is a man. And that is completely her own doing.It turns out she hasn't been the only one in the group who has been keeping their true identity a secret. Devon gets the surprise of a lifetime when she discovers her online best buddy of five years is someone she'd never expected.
Relationships: Henry Cavill/Devon Miller, Henry Cavill/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 62
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovelies!
> 
> Yes, I have caught the Cavill bug.
> 
> Dammit.
> 
> This story is all planned out, and should be about 5-6 chapters/15000-25000 words long when finished. (I'm keeping a large margin, because, although the story has been planned out, it's only halfway written as of now).  
> It's going to be a light-hearted and fluffy story without (too much) drama or angst. Because I just need that right now... 
> 
> Oh, and there will be smut; hence the E rating. ;P
> 
> So, happy reading!  
> XO

**Chapter 1**

Friday, 13 December 2019, 12:22PM. Upstairs at The Builder’s Arms, Kensington, London

Taking a fortifying breath and adjusting her backpack to a more comfortable position on her shoulders, Devon looked up at the steep stairs which led up to the private Upstairs room of the Builder’s Arms pub in Kensington, London. From above she heard the low murmurs and loud laughs of the people gathered there.

She knew she was running over half an hour late, and she would probably be the last one to arrive. The meeting time had been set for a quarter to twelve, but she hadn’t been able to get out of the other meeting she’d had to attend that morning to make it in time.

Contrary to the casual meet-up she was late for, that meeting had been an incredibly important bushiness meeting with several high-rolling investors, pertaining the story development and world design of a prestigious new video game by her and her creative and tech teams.

If she’d walked out of that one early with the excuse she had to attend a party -sort of-… Well, let’s say she valued her company’s reputation just a bit more than the bi-annual meet-up of her international World of Warcraft group.

Which she’d already missed twice before in the five years she’d been part of the team, due to work obligations. Which more or less meant she’d never been to one of these things during all her years playing among the members of the group. Nor had she attended the smaller gatherings the British players organised, and which took place once a year, give or take a few months… Again, due to work stuff.

And maybe also due to the fact everyone attending today’s meet-up thought she was a dude. Maybe she was a bit hesitant to give up her anonymity, fearing the reactions of her fellow raiders would be not so positive. She’d had bad experiences with raid teams and guilds before, and even with one on one players, when they found out she was a woman, completely spoiling her gaming experience with their snobbishly sexist, and completely inappropriate -bordering on pornographic- remarks and harassment.

That’s why these days -alright, over the past six years or so- she always used voice modification software, which made her sound like a male player, when the team communicated through voice chat.

No-one in her WOW team had the slightest suspicion that their huge, male orc rogue, infamous for his merciless brutality and renowned for his incredible tactical abilities and equally impressive foul mouth, was actually a thirty-four-year-old woman of an average build -maaayyybe leaning slightly to curvy? She had to admit she gained a couple of pounds since passing the age of thirty. Dammit-, who only just reached the five-foot-four mark.

Her hesitance to give up her anonymity in fear of losing yet another group of people she enjoyed playing with immensely -and who, more than any other core group of WOW players she’d raided with before, had become more-or-less like an online friend group over the years-, had had her coming up with work emergency excuses to avoid meeting up in real life.

_God, I really am a great gaming friend… not._

At first, when she’d joined the group, she hadn’t felt any guilt pretending to be a man. It made her gaming experience so much better. But after a few years of building friendships with her fellow players the whole thing had started to niggle incessantly at the back of her brain every time she’d logged in. Hell, she even knew the real names of some of the players, and of their wives and how many children they had -not of all of them, of course; about half of the team were more closed off about their private life, keeping gaming life and personal life strictly separate-, while they all were still under the impression she was a thirty-something single guy, who worked a boring desk-job at an IT firm, dated occasionally, and lived in a shared flat in South London. Obviously, none of those statements were even remotely true.

Keeping up the lie about her identity was something she didn’t really want to do anymore after five years of bonding with her fellow team mates.

Which brought her to today.

After much consideration, she’d decided today was going to be the day she lifted the veil. The international meet-up would be in London this time; her home-base for most of the year. The pub only a twenty minute tube ride away from her office.

Devon knew there would be at least two female gamers in attendance at the meet-up, and she was also aware of the fact that those women had been treated with kindness and respect by her team mates when they joined the group -two and three years after Devon had joined, respectively-; which gave her a bit more peace of mind about revealing her true identity. She just hoped people wouldn’t be angry with her for duping them into thinking she was a guy for such a long time.

Walking up the stairs towards the gathering felt a bit like walking herself to the gallows. Nerves zinged through her body, and she could feel sweat breaking out on her upper lip. But that could also be because of the cosy warmth inside the pub becoming quite uncomfortable when one still wore their bulky winter coat, scarf, and a knitted, slouchy beanie pulled deep over her ears.

When she braved the last step and reached her destination, she unwound the long scarf she wore from around her face and neck. Then she tapped the person closest to her on the shoulder.

‘Excuse m-’

‘ ** _Vonnie?!_** ’

_What the…_

Frowning, Devon turned towards the person shouting an abbreviation of her name at her over the hum of the conversations in the room. She didn’t know anyone here, did she?

Apparently, she did.

With a couple of long strides, the husband of her old uni roommate -a roommate who had also become a good friend over the years they’d lived together- stepped up to her, grinning from ear to ear.

‘Vonnie! I thought that was you! What are you doing here?’ he said as he gave her a hug in greeting.

‘I… Uh… What are _you_ doing here?’ Devon echoed back at him when he’d released her, confusion colouring her tone. As far as she knew, Charlie, originally from the UK, now lived in Canada, with Heather -his wife-, and their children.

‘Oh, I’m attending a gathering of part of my World of Warcraft group. We meet up in real life every two years or so.’ He gestured around at the group of about thirty people -all men, and only two women, as Devon had already suspected would be the case- standing and sitting around the cosy pub room, laughing, and chatting, and nursing a pint or some other beverage of choice. ‘We’re still waiting on one person, but he’s running late… So, what are you doing here? You got lost looking for the loo after having a pint at the bar downstairs or something?’

Devon’s brown eyes zeroed in on the name-tag sticker placed just above the breast pocket on the left side of Charlie’s button-up shirt.

Charlie - MaxXximus

_No!_

She blinked, completely flummoxed by the discovery that one of her online battle mates of five years was, in fact, her real life friend-of-twelve-years’s husband-of-seven-years.

 _Say that really fast a couple times in a row, eh?_ She thought humorously just before a _What the hell?!_ followed it up inside her mind. _How surreal is this?!_

‘You’re _MaxXximus?!_ ’ she asked, superfluously, and burst into nerves-induced laughter. The hilarity of the situation got the best of her.

‘What?’ asked Charlie, looking confused. He glanced down at his name-tag. ‘Oh, uh, yeah, I’m MaxXximus in World of Warcraft. Why? It’s not that funny a name, is it?’

Attempting on getting her nervous laughter under control, Devon gulped in a breath.

‘Sorry… No, it’s a great name.’ She almost choked on the last word, and another bout of giggles had her bending over and pressing her hands against her abdomen to relieve the stress-butterflies going crazy inside.

‘Are you alright?’ She heard Charlie ask. He sounded slightly concerned by her unhinged behaviour.

Finally finding her calm again, she straightened up, and nodded as she breathed in a deep breath.

‘Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been under a lot of stress with my work lately. I think this chance meeting was the final straw or something.’ Another deep sigh and release of breath had her focusing more on the situation at hand. ‘It’s just… I can’t believe the coincidence. Out of all the millions of players in the world…’ She shook her head in disbelief at the random chance.

‘Sorry? What do you mean?’ Charlie still sounded a bit confused; his eyebrows knitted together as he looked at her uncomprehendingly.

Deciding to just throw it out into the open, like ripping off a plaster, Devon took another deep breath.

‘I’m Devillmorne.’ she declared in a matter-of-fact tone, feeling a relief she hadn’t expected flood her system.

There. The word was out. No going back now.

To her surprise Charlie stayed completely silent for at least half a minute. She saw how his eyes had widened at her declaration, but other than that, he didn’t really react. He just stared at her.

Then, finally…

‘Sorry… What?’

‘I… uh… **I’m** **Devillmorne**.’ she repeated a bit louder. Maybe he hadn’t heard her right the first time?

And _of course_ there was a slight lull in the noise surrounding them the moment she said it the second time, her voice audible to everyone in the room.

As one, all conversations halted, and all heads turned into her direction. Silence reigned supreme for quite some time while everyone stared at her in… disbelief? surprise?

 _Oh… fuck._ Devon swallowed nervously and squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Goddammit. That really just fucking happened, didn’t it?’ She asked Charlie; opening one eye to gauge his reaction.

‘Yup.’ Charlie said with a snicker. He seemed to have recovered from his stupefaction.

‘Aw _man_. Fuckin’ bollocks!’ That was _not_ how she’d thought her identity reveal would go. She’d reckoned she would just announce it casually in several conversations over the course of the afternoon and evening. Calmly. She’d never imagined this cluster-fuck.

‘Yeah, that’s _Devillmorne_ the Foul alright.’ called out someone from the back of the room, causing the entire group to burst into laughter.

Devon felt how her cheeks heated up in mortification. _shit._

‘YESSS! I _KNEW_ it! I KNEW IT!!!’ One of the women in the room shouted. A tall girl with short, bubblegum pink hair, who was in her late teens or early twenties bounced through the crowd, and kneeled at Devon’s feet, throwing her hands up in mock worship. ‘ _You_ are my QUEEN!’

Wide-eyed, Devon stared at the unbounded enthusiasm the girl displayed.

‘Uh… Thanks?… I think?’ she said, unsure of how to react.

Thankfully, the girl grinned and stood quickly. She took Devon’s right hand and pumped it up and down.

‘I’m May… AKA Syerea the Blood Elf. It’s so great to finally meet you, Devillmorne!’ She did a little squee-like squeak and seemed to almost vibrate from happy energy. ‘And you’re a _woman!_ And you’re a badass! And… _wow_ … just… It’s an _honour!_ ’

Devon swallowed, feeling overwhelmed.

‘Uh… Just call me Devon.’ she said lamely. ‘Oh, and good to meet you, too, May.’

With another squee and a hop May nodded and grinned and then made herself scarce, opening up room for everyone else to welcome her to the group in real life.

Quickly, Devon took off her backpack and coat, and plucked the beanie from her head, causing her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair to go static and stick to her face - _Ugh. Great.-_

She deposited everything onto a vacant chair nearby; stowing her stuff before the first people walked up to her and Charlie to say hi, and saving herself from being cooked alive inside her very warm and very puffy winter coat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devon gets the surprise of a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd post this for the weekend.
> 
> So, happy weekend! 
> 
> And happy reading! 
> 
> XO

**Chapter 2**

It took at least an hour or two before all the hubbub of people wanting to meet her was finally dwindling down a bit. She’d received her own name-tag sticker, which proudly declared her first name and her WOW name.

Devon was left talking to Charlie and the other woman of the group, named Jess (aka the goblin mage Froggywist), a thirty-nine-year-old truck driver from rural California who now drove a truck all around the EU. It was also her first meet-up, and she had felt just as nervous as Devon, she’d confided in her and Charlie.

A bit later, when Jess had excused herself to go to the loo, and Charlie was telling Devon an anecdote about Heather and their little boys, he suddenly perked up when he spotted something behind Devon. A grin appeared on his face.

‘Hah! I wondered where you’d buggered off to. You’re the last one to say hi to our Devillmorne here.’ he said to someone she’d apparently not met yet.

‘Greetings, Hideous Fuck. Scared any fair maidens to death with your ugly mug lately?’ said a voice whose intonation and timbre Devon recognised immediately.

_FaustusX!_

‘Sup, Pretty Boy? What has you out and about? Short on conditioner and nail polish again, are we?’ she shot back without looking at the Blood Elf Priest who was the mightiest healer of their party. They’d been the very best of buds since the day he’d recruited her -or, Devillmorne, to be more precise- for their guild, and they always greeted each other with the same kind of insults. Him calling her ugly, she calling him vain.

Turning around with a wide, shit-eating grin, she came nose to chest - _broad... broooaaad chest… and those shoulders… Double u tee eff?!_ \- with a man as tall as Charlie, but built more like a brick shit-house. No, he was built like _two_ brick shit-houses.

_Maybe even three… Dammit, stop drooling, Dev!_

Slowly looking up, her mouth ran off before her brain could catch up, like it always did when she became flustered.

‘Sheesh, Faust, you’re stacked li-’ A shocked gasp cut off her words when she came eye to eye with her in-game best bud; a flutter of nerves exploding inside her abdomen. ‘Holy-fuckin’-shit-you’re-’ She cut off her rambling and fought to get her gut reaction to go into full fangirl mode under control, and looked to Charlie in accusing surprise while she pointed at Faust. ‘Dude, you couldn’t have fuckin’ said something?! He’s-’ Eyes wide, she looked back at the triple brick shit-house, who gazed down at her with a mixture of amusement and a resigned sort of reservation. ‘You’re... HIS _BROTHER!_ ’ She exclaimed, pointing at Faust, and then gesturing wildly between him and Charlie; thanking any deity listening for her ability to compartmentalise.

This was Charlie’s brother. The brother of her friend’s husband. Just his brother. Charlie _Cavill_ ’s fucking brother.

_Holy shit! Holy shit holyshitholyshitholysh…_

Her ability to compartmentalise was clearly starting to fail her.

She had a bit of trouble forcing the giant of a man who coincidentally happened to be her online best friend into the just-Charlie’s-brother-box inside her mind. _He’s Charlie’s brother. Goddammit._ her brain tried again, on the brink of a meltdown.

 _Yeah, that’s not really working._ she thought when she chanced another glance into the incredibly handsome man’s direction; another flutter of butterflies taking over her insides. Biting her lip, she forced herself to look away again, fighting the urge to reach out her hand and touch his impressively wide chest and shoulders.

_Fuck. Not good._

This wasn’t how she’d imagined meeting her best-battle-mate-of-five-years for the first time would go. She’d thought there would have been a bit of ribbing and back slapping, a handshake, or maybe a hug, and then a nice chat and a bit of a laugh, and that would have been that.

_Well, apparently, today the universe has a sick sense of humour where I’m concerned. Dammit._

The man behind the character of FaustusX frowned, visibly thrown off kilter by her observation about him and Charlie; no matter how astute it was.

‘That’s... not what I thought you’d say.’ he rumbled, his deep voice causing a shiver to run down her spine.

_Oh god… everyone to the life boats, women and children first!_

‘Well, yeah… Of course I wouldn’t state the _obvious_.’ She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. ‘That could have led to a fangirl meltdown. And you don’t want those. _I_ don’t want those. They’re not fun, and very embarrassing. For both the fangirl, _and_ the recipient.’ A disgusted grimace flitted over her face at the thought. She wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her jeans.

‘You have had many of those, fangirl meltdowns, I mean? You sound experienced.’ Brick shit-house said, raising a challenging eyebrow at her, looking very amused by her verbal diarrhoea.

Of course she couldn’t do anything else but meet the challenge. _Ugh._

‘God, yeah, I’ve had my share; don’t remind me... Well, they were more like fanboy meltdowns, but, yeah. Those aren’t pretty either, by the way.’ She cringed at the memory. ‘There’s crying, and snot, and said fanboys look at you as if you’re all their wet dreams come true; shiny heart eyes and everything, before they become nasty, that is... Yuck.’

‘Again... _Not_ what I thought you’d say.’ Came the flummoxed reply.

Next to her, she heard how Charlie had trouble keeping in his laughter.

Devon frowned at Charlie before she stuck out her hand to FaustusX.

‘I hardly ever do as I’m expected... Seeing that your younger brother here seems to have devolved into being a useless _fuck_ -but what else is new, right? Not like we’re not used to that in-game-,’ She pulled a funny face, showing him she was just joking, ‘I’ll be so bold to introduce myself. Hello, Henry Cavill, I’m Devon, also known as Devillmorne. It’s nice to finally meet you irl, **_Pretty Boy_** … I see I wasn’t _very_ far off with that moniker.’

 _Fuck, why did I say that?! Why did I have to say that?! Whyyyy?!_ She inwardly cringed at her own words.

Henry barked out a laugh at her cheekiness and took it in stride. He accepted her proffered hand, dwarfing it with his. Devon suppressed a groan when she felt the butterflies go mental in her abdomen from the feeling of strength in his handshake.

_Shite, get a grip, you floozy!_

‘Hello, Devon. It’s lovely to meet you, too, finally... And quite refreshing, if I might add.’ Henry said, sending her a smile that made her heart skip a beat before he released her hand again.

 _Does he even know what he does to people with that fucking smile?!_ She didn’t know what to think anymore. He seemed to just be polite and friendly, but that smile… god, she hoped she’d survive the day without becoming a complete mess around him.

 _No. This is Faust. You_ **_know_ ** _him. He’s been your buddy through thick and thin for the past five years. He’s_ **_just_ ** _Faust, whom you’ve talked to at least every week since joining the guild. The fact that you now know his face doesn’t change a thing about the friendship. He’s still the same as he always was. And so are you. You_ **_can_ ** _and you_ **_will_ ** _behave, and so will your libido, goddammit!_

‘He’s going to fanboy.’ whispered Charlie suddenly from beside her, snickering an evil laugh and startling her out of her inner monologue. ‘I know he is. He’s going to fanboy _so hard_ when he finds out _._ ’

Shooting a sharp, warning look at Charlie, Devon scowled. She had an inkling where this all was going, and she needed to put a stop to it. Right away. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

‘No! Don’t you _dare_ , Charles Cavill!’

‘What... is going on?’ Asked Henry, looking puzzled.

‘Ask her what her last name is.’ Charlie said to his brother. ‘Well, ask her.’ He repeated when a confused Henry looked from a flustered, fuming Devon to an overly amused looking Charlie.

‘I’m not sure-’ he started to say, a hesitant expression sliding onto his face. Then another thing apparently occurred to him. ‘May I ask how you two know each other? You seem too familiar with each other to have only just met.’

‘Oh, Devon here is Heather’s old uni roommate, from when Heather studied here in London. She and Heather became good friends over the years.’

‘I can’t remember ever seeing you at the wedding…’ Henry’s voice trailed off when he seemed to realise she might not have been invited to the wedding in the first place, and he had just made a bit of a faux pas.

Devon took pity on him and shook her head.

‘That’s because I wasn’t there. We had an emergency at my company, and I had to cancel at the last moment. I was at the rehearsal dinner though. And I can’t remember seeing you there, either.’

‘I only arrived the morning of the wedding. I was delayed because of a film shoot.’

‘Oh, well, that explains it, I had already left by th-’

Charlie cut her off when he let out a surprised exclamation that turned smug within seconds. He slapped Devon on her back enthusiastically, thumping the breath from her lungs. The dude had no idea of his own strength it seemed.

‘Oh. My. God. I just figured it out! Now I know why your WOW name always looked so familiar, even when I didn’t know who you were! It’s an anagram, isn’t it?!’ Charlie cackled triumphantly at the discovery. ‘It is! Isn’t it?’

‘Jesus, Charlie! Keep your voice down or you’ll blow my cover!’ Devon hissed as she wheezed, attempting to get some oxygen back into her body, her eyes watering.

‘Devillmorne? An anagram?’ Henry seemed mighty intrigued by his brother’s discovery. ‘Devon... Devon...’

She could see the wheels turning in his brain.

_Shit. Not good._

‘Devon… Mmmiii… Miller?’ Henry guessed correctly after a few seconds, sounding unsure.

Devon almost facepalmed when Charlie let out an elated whoop, but Henry didn’t really react the way his brother had hoped, apparently, because he deflated when the fanboying didn’t happen.

‘Sheesh, bro, you’re such a spoilsport.’

Henry frowned at his brother and looked between him and a very relieved looking Devon.

‘I’m not sure how you’re expecting me to react, Charlie.’

‘Devon. Miller.’ Charlie said slowly, enunciating both words. His expression filled with expectation.

‘Yes. That’s her.’ Henry pointed at Devon, but looked at Charlie as if the man had finally lost his marbles. ‘And online she’s _very_ convincing as a man. In real life… not so much.’ His glance towards her slight, feminine stature was filled with mirth. Apparently, he could appreciate how the joke had been on him, on them, for five years straight, and he wasn’t upset about her deception. No-one had ever suspected her to be anything else but male, but everyone at the meet-up had been very accepting and welcoming to her being a woman, including him.

‘Henry!’ Charlie exclaimed, pulling Henry’s attention back to himself. ‘Please, set that smart brain of yours to work, I know it’s in there, somewhere, and listen to me… **_She_** ,’ He pointed at Devon, ‘is **_Devon… Miller…_** ’ When Henry just nodded and frowned at him, uncomprehending, Charlie sighed, rolled his eyes, and pushed on. ‘Ever heard of the Riveter Gaming Company? Does the abbreviation RiGaCo ring a bell?’

Henry froze. His blue gaze slowly traveled from Charlie to Devon, who grimaced. She saw the exact moment when it all clicked in place.

_Oh shit. Here we go…_

‘No.’ he said, his tone completely disbelieving.

‘Yes.’ replied Charlie, grinning.

‘ _No._ ’ Henry repeated, stressing the word, his incredulous gaze jumping to and fro between Charlie and Devon.

‘Oh, yeah.’ Charlie snickered. ‘The one and only.’

‘You’re Devon Miller? _THE_ Devon Miller?’ Henry asked her, his eyes wide in surprise.

‘Yup.’ said Devon, pressing her lips together and glancing up at the tall man with slight trepidation. The way he looked now made her suspect he was on the brink of a bloody fanboy meltdown. _Fuck._

‘You’re a girl… woman.’

‘Uh, yes, last time I checked.’

‘ _And_ you’re **_THE_** **_Devon Miller?!_** ’ The way he stressed her name out loud like that made her glance around in alarm at the rest of the group, but thankfully no-one paid them any attention.

‘I’m starting to feel quite insulted right now.’ Devon pulled a face at hearing his incredulous tone. In spite of her hesitance to reveal her last name to anyone present at the meet-up -something that wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t met Loose-Lipped-Charlie there-, she found his inability to accept that she, a woman, _really_ was THAT Devon Miller slightly insulting, and leaning very much towards the sexism she was frequently met with in her line of work.

Over the years she’d had to prove again and again one could be a woman and _also_ a tech and game whizkid, all at the same time, and she was becoming quite fed up with repeating the same scene over and over.

‘What if I started questioning your intelligence because you’re so pretty? You’re too pretty, so you have to be as dumb as they come… What? You’re handsome _and_ you have a brain? Nope, not possible.’ She shot at him cattily.

Henry, apparently realising his reaction had been less than courteous, was quick to apologise, the tone of his deep voice placating.

‘Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have worded it in such a way… But I was completely convinced the Devon Miller from the Riveter Gaming Company is a man. It’s always the same guy presenting new games and new software, online and at tech and comic conventions and such.’

‘Oh…’ Devon could see how he had come to that conclusion and deflated a bit. ‘Yes, um, that’s Billy. He’s my second in command, and my tech presenter.’ she explained. ‘I… I, uh, have trouble with speaking to large crowds of people, so we decided early on he should do it. He’s a real pro at keeping people engaged in his presentations. And after all these years people always think he’s me, so it’s not very weird you thought so too.’

She inwardly snickered at the memory of Billy complaining again and again about being mistaken for her. He was the one having to handle most of the fanboy meltdowns, thankfully.

’To his own request, we never put his name down or announce him when he presents, so people just naturally assume he’s Devon Miller. Only my business associates, my friends, and my family know the truth about my identity. -And so do some of the hardcore fans who found out by creepy stalking Devon Miller on the internet.’ She pulled a face. ‘Those aren’t fun. There’s always the fanboy meltdowns. And then they throw an online tantrum because Devon Miller is a woman who didn’t want to smile and take a picture with them. And then nobody believes them anyway, because everyone thinks Billy is me. And he’s a guy. So…’ Shrugging, she sent him a closed lipped smile. ‘I like being a bit anonymous. Especially when I see what kind of hero worship crap Billy sometimes goes through at conventions. He is a saint for being the buffer between me and the over-zealous game fans.’

‘Wow, that’s incredible…’ Henry sent her a small smile. ‘You’re actually _Devon Miller_ … Wow... Um, I’m trying not to sound like one of those creepy fanboys, but I, uh, I just want you to know that I’ve been a huge fan of your work since _Opal Sky_ was released.’ He sounded as if he was in awe, and looked at her with unconcealed admiration, but he thankfully kept the fanboying to a minimum -to Charlie’s disappointment no doubt-. ‘It really is a game which was way ahead of its time, story and graphics wise.’

A warm feeling washed through her at his compliment. The game had been one of her proudest achievements when it had been released; she -and with her the team of young, rebellious, ragtag programmers and designers she’d put together from her group of friends and uni mates- had worked herself to the bone to get it to the high standard she’d envisioned for it. The fact that Henry, who was such a giant in his own field of work, and a fervent gamer to boot, held it to such high praise… Well, that was the cherry on top to her. She gave him a happy smile.

‘Thanks. It’s a golden oldie, that one. Still sells very well. It was the first game I ever sold to a big distribution company, and the money I made from it I used to start up the Riveter Gaming Company. It had always been a dream of mine to write, build, and produce my own games and software in-house, and the revenue of that game made it all possible… In the coming year we’re celebrating the tenth anniversary of _Opal Sky_ ’s release, and in twenty-twenty-one a decade of RiGaCo.’ She knew the pride in her voice betrayed how much she loved her work and how proud she was of having built a successful gaming business in such a male dominated field, but she didn’t care.

She’d kicked ass when everyone important within the business had doubted her ability to succeed; they’d doubted her skills, they’d doubted her because of her age -she’d been only twenty-three when she’d sold _Opal Sky_ -, they’d doubted her business insights, and they’d doubted her because she was a woman -one with blonde hair no less. The dumb-blonde-jokes had been running rampant, especially in the beginning-. But she persevered, and she’d come out on top where other game developers had crashed and burned.

Even now, the games her company had produced over the years still dominated the gaming industry’s various top ten, top twenty, and top fifty game charts. Her company was quite small according to many people’s standards, but they always produced high quality games and software. Devon liked that she had succeeded in keeping it manageable and not grow too fast. It gave her the time and space to do things her way, instead of having to outsource too much.

‘I know this might be a very rude and intrusive question, but I’m just going to ask it. Are you able to give me a bit of insight into the story and release of _Opal Sky: Darkling_? Apart from the teasers and trailer already available, I mean.’ Henry asked with a bit of a greedy glint in his eye.

Devon blinked in surprise at his bold request.

_Wow, dude’s got some nerve._

‘Are you able to give me a bit of insight into the storyline of _The Witcher_ TV series? Apart from the teasers and trailers already available, I mean.’ She snarked back immediately, sending him a shark-like smile, knowing he could reveal just as much about the series as she would about her game; absolutely _nothing_.

Henry’s eyebrows shot up at her cheeky rebuff of his nosy question and he snickered.

‘Right. Fair enough. I’ll take that as a _no_ then?’

‘You’d better.’

A sly smile flitted over his face when he appeared to think of something.

‘I _could_ offer you an early look at the first two episodes of _The Witcher_ , though.’

Devon’s inner fangirl perked up immediately. She just loved those books, and the games.

‘You could?'

‘Hmmm… The London premiere is this Monday.’ He flashed her a thousand watt grin. ‘And I _could_ be persuaded into procuring an invite for you.’

Raising her eyebrows at him, she couldn’t help but sound interested.

‘Really?’ Then she realised how he’d worded it, and she narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. ‘And what’s in it for _you?_ ’

‘A little, tiny, itty bitty look at the new _Opal Sky_ game?’ he tried, gazing at her longingly with blue puppy dog eyes, a pleading look on his ridiculously handsome face. It almost made her melt and give in.

Almost.

What he didn’t realise was that the _Opal Sky_ games were her babies. All the games she’d developed were, more or less, but _especially_ those ones, and she wouldn’t give them up for anything. Not even for a sneak peek at _The Witcher_ TV series.

‘No.’ There was a finality to her voice which left no room for negotiation.

Henry had clearly heard it too. He sighed in disappointment, and his pleading expression turned into one of resignation.

‘Oh, well. It was worth a try, at least. But kudos to you for being unwavering and steadfast under pressure, I can respect that.’

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘Hmm hmm.’

‘So… I had an idea.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Marry me.’

‘What?!’

_The fuck?!_

‘Marry me. That way we don’t have to keep our work secret from each other.’

‘No.’ God, that man didn’t know when to stop. Secretly, she felt chuffed that he was looking forward so much to the new game that he was prepared to go to such incredibly laughable lengths. She had to suppress a snicker at the slightly insulted expression on his face when she shot his ridiculous proposal down so fast; and also without any hesitation.

‘What? Why not?’

‘You only want me for my games.’ She managed to pull off sending him a look of complete and utter indignation without bursting into laughter.

‘And for your charming personality and inventive use of incredibly creative curses and swear words.’

_Right. Now he’s just asking for it._

‘Fuck you, you walking, talking, self-wanking smorgasbord of ridiculous musculature!’ Hm. Not her best insulting response ever, but she was working under pressure here.

A wide grin spread over his face at her ludicrous response.

‘See?’

‘No, I don’t see.’

‘Sure you do.’

‘You’re a manipulative little shit. That’s what _I_ see. I don’t like you.’

‘Yes, you do.’

‘Answer’s still _no_.’

‘Bugger.’ Henry rumbled; then he threw her a shit-eating grin. ‘But I was _this_ close to convincing you, wasn’t I?’ He held his thumb and index finger less than a centimetre apart.

‘Dream on, _Pretty Boy_.’ Devon snorted a laugh.

‘Don’t mind if I do.’ Henry’s grin turned positively wicked as he gazed down at her.

 _Oh… Fuck._ Devon swallowed thickly, and blinked up at him. The sudden heat in his gaze, focused directly on her, caused those blasted, traitorous butterflies in her stomach to go into a frenzy once again. She was completely lost for words all of a sudden.

‘Uh… Do you guys need a room?’ Charlie butted into their “conversation”.

Both Devon and Henry simultaneously shifted their attention to a grinning Charlie from where they had come to stand toe to toe and almost nose to nose while they had shot off their increasingly ridiculous responses at each other; in the same way they always bantered online, only maybe slightly more… well, _more_.

Henry’s lips pressed together at Charlie’s interruption, and he glared at his younger brother, who now had a shit-eating grin of his own creeping over his face. He wiggled his eyebrows at Henry.

Expelling an irritated breath, Henry stared at his brother for only a second longer before he turned back to Devon.

‘You want to get out of here?’ he asked. ‘Maybe grab a bite to eat?’

‘ _What_ are you doing?’ Charlie asked, sounding confused and a bit insulted by his brother’s sudden dismissal.

‘Following your advice.’ Though he responded to Charlie, Henry kept his eyes trained on Devon. ‘So, what do you say?’ he asked her.

‘Uh…’ Devon wracked her suddenly useless brain to find an answer. What did one say to such an unexpected invitation? ‘O…kay?’

Henry smiled a delighted smile and nodded.

‘Alright. Great. I’ll just grab my coat and we’ll be on our way.’

‘’kay.’ Devon said, staring after Henry with a tilted head as he made his way to the back of the room.

 _Fuck, he fills out those jeans_ **_so_ ** _well…_

‘What was _that?!_ ’ Charlie asked from next to her, also staring after Henry.

 _Shit. Did I say that out loud?!_ Chancing a glance at Charlie, she saw he still stared after Henry, a frown on his face. _Okay. We’re good. He’s talking about Henry’s behaviour._

‘Dunno.’ Apparently she was only capable of mono-syllabic answers from now on.

She turned towards the chair holding all her stuff and slipped back into her coat, pulling the beanie back onto her head, and winding her scarf around her neck before hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders again.

‘You look like you’re about to go to the North Pole.’ Charlie commented on her bulky winter outfit.

‘’s cold.’ She shrugged.

‘It’s London. In December. Not the North Cape. It’s almost ten degrees outside!’

‘Yeah, ’s cold.’

‘You’re bonkers.’

‘Whatever.’

‘Great, I see you’re ready too.’ Henry joined them again wearing a dark brown leather jacket, a pair of aviator sunglasses were perched on his nose, and a dark blue baseball cap was pulled deep over his forehead, covering his dark curls. A dark blue scarf had been draped nonchalantly around his neck. ‘Shall we go?'

‘Hmm hmm.’ hummed Devon from behind her two layers of scarf.

She could only just throw a muffled ‘bye!’ in Charlie’s direction before Henry took her hand in his and pulled her towards the stairs.

‘Hey! What about me?’ Charlie called after them, sounding as if he was about to wallow in self-pity. ‘I thought we’d go do to this WOW thing together?’

‘You’re a big boy… Just go… mingle.’ Henry shot back just before he descended the stairs, Devon following in his wake.

‘ _Mingle?!_ ’ They could hear Charlie exclaim from afar, a disgruntled ‘ _Henry?!_ ’ following them out the door as it fell closed behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter 2 for this story.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hoped you liked it. :)
> 
> When Muse receives her nomnoms, she makes me write more, and faster. (hint hint, wink wink) Kudos and Comments are very much appreciated.
> 
> Until next time, my lovelies!  
> Stay safe!
> 
> XO


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding where to go. Oh, what a dilemma...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, here I am again, with another chapter for this story.
> 
> Chapter 3 of 6... Probably... Maaaaybe 3 of 7? 
> 
> Ah well, I'm still on schedule, and the whole thing won't be as long as some of my other stories. So... One chapter more won't break the bank, right? ;P
> 
> Happy reading!  
> XO

**Chapter 3**

The moment they stepped outside, Henry released Devon’s hand and put both his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the absence of the warmth of his touch. More than she had expected.

He turned towards her and looked a bit uncertain as he gazed down at her; a small, almost apologetic smile on his face. He seemed to be contemplating something.

‘So, where are we going?’ Asked Devon, more to break the silence than anything else.

‘Well…’ he began, hesitantly, ‘I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, if I’m honest… I was almost sure you, in your trademark witty, foul-mouthed fashion, were going to turn me down in the most blunt way possible.’

Devon raised her eyebrows at him, completely surprised by his blatant candor; and maybe slightly insulted by the certainty in his voice. She pulled down the scarf covering her mouth.

‘Why on _earth_ would you think I would do that?!’ she asked, sounding flabbergasted.

He looked at her with a flat stare, as if it was pretty clear why he would think that.

‘I’ve known you for _five_ years, _Devillmorne_. Your quick as lightning wit is a blunt-force weapon at the best of times, and it obliterates everything it comes into contact with at the worst.’

Did he _really_ think she was as crass and brutal in real life as she sometimes acted online? Okay, she had to admit she had her moments every now and then, but that was nothing compared to when she was Devillmorne. That was a persona, a character she’d created -and used- to blow off steam; to lighten the stress-load running a multi-million pound game-development business brought to the table.

‘ _Fuck_. _That’s_ what you think?’

‘It’s what I know.’

‘Pretty Boy, you don’t know _shit_.’ She frowned at him.

‘I don’t?’ He actually sounded confused.

_Fucker._

_Keep your tongue in check, Dev. The dude doesn’t know you. Not really. Just like you don’t really know him. You both only know your mutual online personas._

‘You _really_ don’t.’ Shaking her head, Devon pushed down the urge to lash out, and breathed a calming sigh. ‘Look, playing World of Warcraft is my outlet. My safe place, so to speak. Where I can vent and be as crass as I want, and _need_ to be sometimes, because I can’t be that way in real life. I run one of the most prominent game-developing companies in the country, for fucks sake. Along with the tech development and creative work, I have to deal with important people, like investors and brand partners, almost every other day; and my working life is stressful at the best of times, because people depend on me to do my job as well as I can, so I’ll be able to pay their wages at the end of the month. So, the Devon, or Devillmorne if we’re keeping it straight, you _think_ you know, doesn’t exactly exist in the extent you seem to think she does; it’s more a magnified part of one of my character traits than anything else. A bit how your public image, dreamt up by a couple of PR gurus, doesn’t really completely represent you, I might suspect.’

‘Oh… Hm… Good analogy.’ Henry nodded, sounding not in the least put off by her explanation. He sent her a toothy smile, his eyes crinkling with humour. ‘I wouldn’t mind having Devillmorne Devon around, though. You don’t have to keep her under lock and key when you’re hanging out with me. I’ve found she’s very witty and funny... Brutal, but hilarious.’

Devon looked up at him with a doubtful expression.

‘You’re joking, right?’

He snickered with an almost sadistic kind of amusement.

‘Nope. The way you tore right through the fragile egos of those two twats during that game two weeks ago, still has me cracking up at times. Thanks to you we were able to win; they were so busy blowing a fuse, they weren’t paying attention to their objectives anymore.’

‘Oh, yeah, that was fun.’ she said with a grin when she remembered the campaign. ‘Alright then, I won’t hold “Devillmorne”’ She air-quoted the name, ‘in check as much when I’m around you. How’s that?’

‘Awesome.’ The smile he sent her once again caused her heart to skip a beat.

_God, if he keeps that up I’m going to have to make an appointment with a cardiologist._

‘So, any idea where we’re going yet?’ she asked, releasing her scarf, allowing it to creep up over her mouth again, and putting her hands in her coat pockets to warm them a bit; they were freezing. ‘I’ll be fine with wherever, as long as it’s warm and the food is nice.’ Around them, the light of day was already fading, and the early twilight of December was upon them. ‘I’m not really familiar with this part of London, so...’ She shrugged. ‘If you want to go somewhere else by tube or share an Uber that’s fine with me, too.’

He looked a bit sheepish when he answered her.

‘Actually, I hadn’t realised the time...’ He scratched the back of his head, his gaze apologetic.

 _This is it. He has realised you’re not as fun as he thought, and now he’s going to let you down gently, and then you’re both going to go your own way._ The insecure part of her personality ruthlessly pushed the thought to the forefront of her mind.

‘I have to check on my dog, and he needs a walk soon, so...’

_Yup, there it is... The let-down. Why would you even think he could ever be interested in the likes of y-_

‘Would you mind if we picked up some take-away? We can eat it at my place; it’s only about a ten minute walk from here.’

 _Oh... Oh! Holy shit!_ Staring up at him, she tried to come to terms with him proposing something she hadn’t expected. At. All.

She shook herself from her bewilderment before it became awkward, and nodded.

‘Uh... I... Sure. No problem. What did you have in mind?’

He must have noticed her hesitation, because he frowned and was quick to reassure her.

‘We can go somewhere else, if you want. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, or pressured into going home with me. I mean, I-’

‘Oh, no it’s fine.’ she interrupted him. ‘I just hadn’t expected the question. I can imagine, with your level of fame, you’d want the location of your home to be known to as few people as possible. And I’m as much a stranger as anyone else. Up until this afternoon you even thought I was a guy.’

‘True. But I could say the same thing. Up until this afternoon you didn’t know who _I_ was, either. So, I wouldn’t be insulted if you were hesitant to come home with me.’

‘Yup, but you’re forgetting I know Charlie. His wife is a very good friend of mine, who would cut off your balls if anything happened to me.’

Henry cringed a bit at her wording.

‘Yeah... Heather is a force to be reckoned with; and a bit scary sometimes.’

‘She really is.’ Devon smiled at the thought of her spirited friend. Then she changed the subject. ‘So, what’s for dinner?’

‘Oh... I was thinking Italian? There’s a really good restaurant close to my house. They also do take-away, and they make fantastic pastas, or pizzas, if that’s more your thing.’

‘Fine by me. Lead the way, Pretty Boy.’ She snickered at his cringe reaction to the moniker.

‘Do you really have to call me that?’ he complained as he started walking, holding out his hooked arm to her, his hand still in his pocket, showing her he wasn’t really upset with her.

Sliding her hand through the gap and hooking her fingers around his bent elbow - _Don’t squeeze the biceps, don’t squeeze the biceps, don’t you_ ** _dare_** _, you feckin’ floozy!-_ , she threw him an innocent smile.

‘Well, you _are_ a boy... _And_ you’re pretty. So...’

‘I’m _not_ pretty.’ He objected with a disgusted expression.

‘Well, no, if you pull a face like that you’re not.’ She shot back immediately.

‘Excuse me?! That’s not very nice.’

‘Dude, make up your mind.’

‘About what?’

‘If I say you’re pretty, you object, and if I say you’re not, you also object. Either you’re pretty, or you’re not. You can’t have it both ways.’

‘I’m ruggedly handsome.’ He stated with a regal air.

Devon snorted indelicately at his declaration.

‘If you don’t shave off your stubble, or if you grow a beard, then, _maybe_. But with that clean-shaven look you have going on right now? Not in a million years. You’re pretty, and that’s that.’

Henry frowned down at her, looking quite irritated, but she could see how his eyes twinkled with badly concealed mirth.

‘You’re very annoying.’

‘I get that a lot.’ she responded proudly, wiggling her eyebrows at him. ‘You fed up with me yet?’

‘Not in a million years. You’re funny.’

‘Damn... and here I was, thinking I was getting under your skin.’

Henry only hummed in a noncommittal manner, and steered her towards a glass door. They’d arrived at the Italian restaurant without her noticing it; she’d been having such a good time bantering with her companion.

He pulled open the door, and let her walk through first. His hand brushed hers when she let go of his arm and he pulled his hand from his pocket at the same time, seeming to linger for a bit before he moved, and the moment was gone. It caused another wave of butterflies in her stomach.

 _Fuckin’ hell, would you behave?!?_ she admonished her traitorous body. _That was just accidental, and he’s just being polite._

At the counter, they studied the take-away menu and decided on what they wanted for tea. Devon going for a tagliatelle with chargrilled salmon and a cream sauce, and Henry ordering half the menu for himself. Literally.

‘Wow, you hungry much?’ Devon asked with a laugh when the waitress had taken their order and they were seated on a small sofa to wait for everything to be prepared for them.

Henry sent her a grimace.

‘Yeah, sorry about that. I have to eat a lot of calories to be able to keep up my body mass and muscle tone for The Witcher. We’re doing a second season, and filming starts at the end of February. The regimen right now isn’t as punishing as it will be from January onwards, but I’m still at the gym for two to three hours a day, five days a week… And where today’s dinner is concerned, I’ll eat most of my order when we get home, but I’ll also save some for later tonight.’

‘Sounds like fun.’ she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice to show how not fun it sounded to her. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I like to eat as much as the next person. I love good food. But to have to force that many calories into my body, day in and day out... My god, I’d hate that.’

‘Well, I also drink high-calorie protein shakes, and those help with keeping the food I have to take in to an acceptable level. Otherwise I’d have to eat constantly. With those shakes as an addition to my diet, I’m fine with a couple of big, well balanced meals a day. And I like to eat, so it isn’t that much of a chore.’ He raised an eyebrow at her. ‘What about you?’

‘What about me?’

‘Do you play sports, or go to the gym or anything?’

‘Hmm, well, the gym, no, that’s not for me. But I don’t own a car, so I use public transport most of the time, and I walk a lot to get to where I’m going, and I when I can, I always take the stairs when in an office building or my flat, and leave the elevator for somebody else. That keeps me pretty fit. And I practice BJJ once a week for about an hour-and-a-half. I used to try and make it two or three times a week, but with my business becoming more successful I just don’t have the time anymore. Which sucks.’

‘Really? BJJ?’

‘Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.’ she elaborated, as she thought him puzzled by the abbreviation. ‘It’s a martial art.’

‘Oh, I know what it is. But… _Really?_ ’ Henry’s interest was clearly piqued.

‘Yes. Really. I’ve been practicing BJJ on-and-off since I was in my teens, but I became more serious about it when I was in my early twenties.’

‘Cool.’ He really did sound like he thought it cool. ‘What level are you at?’

Sending him a questioning look, she shrugged. _What’s with the third degree? Why is he so interested all of a sudden?_

‘I’m a black belt… Which is where I’ll stay for the rest of my life, probably. I’m pretty sure, with how my available time to train has dwindled so significantly in the past few years, I’ll never progress any further.’ She sighed.

‘Wow. That’s impressive.’ Looking at her with a renewed kind of awe, he smiled. ‘I happen to practice a bit of BJJ myself.’ He said after a small pause.

This made her sit up and look at him sharply.

‘Really?’ she was now the one to ask.

‘Yes, really.’ He nodded. ‘But I’m nowhere near black belt level, I’m afraid. I’ve been doing BJJ for about five years now, and I only just made it to blue belt. Like you, I don’t have much time to train, only once every few weeks or so, so it’s taking me a bit longer to progress than people who can train three times a week.’

‘Understandable. But still, cool…’ Her voice trailed off as she narrowed her eyes and sized him up. He would probably make a good practice partner. With his bulk and strength he was of a very different kind and size than the women her professor had her sparring with every week. It would be a nice variation on her usual training regimen.

‘What?’ he asked, looking back at her with a curious expression.

‘So… You wanna grapple some time?’

‘What? Against a blackbelt? You’d kick my arse.’ A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest.

‘I _totally_ could…’ Devon felt chuffed that he acknowledged how her use of technique could completely obliterate the advantage he had on her with his weight and height. Usually, when men saw her short stature -combined with the fact that she was a woman-, especially men who had been practicing BJJ for a long time and hadn’t gone up against many women, they tended to ignore the black belt around her waist, and underestimated her level of skill and experience. Most times to their own detriment. ’But I would take it easy on you.’

‘I wouldn’t want you to… If I ever won, it would have to be earned fair and square, and not given away because you took pity on me. But, if you promise to not hold back, sure, I’m game.’

‘Excuse me, sir, ma’am, your order is ready.’ The waitress interrupted their conversation as she put two large plastic bags onto the counter.

Henry stood up quickly and pulled his wallet from his jeans pocket. Before Devon had any chance to protest against him paying for their food, he’d already swiped his card and done just so.

‘You didn’t have to do that, you know.’ she said to him as they made their way outside after thanking the waitress. ‘We could have easily split the bill.’

‘It’s alright, I’ll be eating almost ninety percent of it anyway. Wouldn’t be fair if you shouldered fifty percent of the cost.’ He pushed open the glass door with his shoulder because he carried a bag of food in each hand, and held it open for her with his body.

‘Yeah, but still…’ she tried again, slipping past him through the doorway and stepping out onto the pavement.

‘You can pay next time if you’re so keen on letting me eat you into the poor house.’ Henry joked as he set off down the street in quite the quick tempo.

Devon snorted in derision at his words and took off in a short sprint to catch up with his long stride.

‘Yeah, right. I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. You’re forgetting you’re not the only successful adult in this conversation, Henry. I can suffer to lose some money on that bottomless pit you call a stomach.’

‘Doesn’t mean it would be fair, though.’ he objected with a wry smile. ‘To have you spend your money on something I’m already being payed for by the Witcher production.’

‘I-’ Devon hastily swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue, fighting a blush. She’d almost told him how she wouldn’t object to being able to say she’d contributed to the man’s incredibly impressive physique. Okay, maybe she would have phrased it slightly more crude. The words hot, fucking, and bod came closer to the truth.

‘You, what?’

‘Nothing.’ she responded a bit too quickly.

‘That blush tells me it wasn’t _nothing_.’ The look he sent her was definitely wicked.

Cursing his sharp observation skills, Devon shrugged, trying to look more nonchalant than she felt.

Thankfully, Henry didn’t pry any further, but walked towards a cast-iron gate that was almost as high as it was wide, situated between two tall buildings. It spanned the entire entrance to a private, well-kept cul-de-sac, which boasted a range of brightly coloured mews houses set at opposite sides of a cobbled road. After he’d punched a code into a small keyboard that had been attached to a smaller side-gate meant for pedestrians, a buzzer sounded and he pushed against the gate, unlocking it, and once again holding it open for her with his body.

‘I’m completely able to carry one of those bags, you know.’ Devon remarked when she slipped past him. ‘Then you’d at least have one hand free.’

‘You’re already carrying a backpack.’ he said, transferring the bag he carried in his right hand to join the one he held in his left, so he could rummage around in his jacket pocket as he looked for his house keys. ‘Besides, carrying both bags keeps me more balanced than carrying only one.’

They walked up to a white-washed, double-fronted, two storey house with a wide garage door to the left of the dark green front door and a pair of tall windows to its right side. It was situated a bit to the back of the cul-de-sac, out of sight of the cast-iron gate.

Henry turned towards her with a hesitant expression; keys in hand to unlock the door.

‘I have to warn you, my dog is quite big and strong, and can seem a bit intimidating to people who don’t know him, but I want you to know he’s very well trained and knows how to behave, even though he sometimes can react slightly over-enthusiastic when I come home.’

‘Oh, okay.’ What else was there to say. She was becoming quite peckish, and if the dog wasn’t aggressive, she would be fine; as long as she got to eat her tagliatelle and salmon dish. ‘That’s fine.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Yup.’

‘Okay.’ He unlocked the door and stepped through, going first this time to greet his dog before the animal bowled Devon over in his enthusiasm to get to his dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, Comments, Comments worded as 'Kudos', Keyboard Slams, all are welcome here. This is an inclusive space. :) <3
> 
> Thanks for reading, and until next time! 
> 
> XO


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner at Henry's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> Here's the newest instalment for this story.
> 
> As I'll have a spotty internet connection over the coming week, I probably won't be able to upload any more chapters until at least after next weekend.
> 
> If you're bored or want to see what I'm up to outside of my writing, come see me on Instagram (@studiopluckypuck) and give me a follow if you like the content. Cheers! :)
> 
> Happy reading for now, and happy weekend!

**Chapter 4**

A loud ‘moof’ was heard in the entrance hallway before a large, thickly muscled, black-and-white dog enthusiastically barrelled up to Henry; dancing around him, looking for attention, while Henry threw his house keys onto a side table and then placed both bags containing their food next to the keys.

‘Hey boy.’ he said fondly, bending over to pet the animal.

Behind Henry, Devon quickly took off her hat, scarf, and coat; placing her backpack on the floor underneath a tall coat rack before hanging her outerwear onto its large hooks.

The moment she put her hands into her jean-pockets and stepped to the side, the dog’s attention turned from his dad to her; his large, black head, sporting a pair of dark brown eyes, tilting to the side in curiosity.

Another ‘moof’ came from the dog, and he bounded over to her to investigate.

‘Kal! Easy!’ Henry exclaimed loudly when the dog made to jump up against her in his enthusiasm.

The animal really was huge. Where Kal came only to Henry’s upper thighs, with her, his head came up almost as high as her waist.

Bracing herself against the dog, who weighed at least a hundred pounds, if not more, Devon made eye contact and shook her head once.

‘No.’ she said with a distinct command in her voice.

The dog hesitated when he heard the way she spoke the word and saw her body language, and retreated.

‘Sit.’ The command came out clear and decisive as she pointed to the floor.

Obediently, the dog sat down, looking up at her with his dark eyes, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted happily.

‘Good boy.’ Devon praised the dog with a sweet sounding voice, and reached out her hand for him to sniff. When he booped her hand with his cold, wet nose, she took the hint and gave him scritchies behind his ears. ‘That’s such a good boy.’

The dog immediately dropped down to the floor and rolled onto his back so she could pet his tummy.

‘Oh, you’re just a big, sweet bear, aren’t you?’ She said with a smile as she crouched down and scritched the fur on his chest; the dog’s front left leg twitching from delight. ‘Yes. You. Are.’ Gazing up at a flummoxed looking Henry, she asked, ‘What did you say his name was? Kal?’

‘Yes, as in Kal-El. From-’

‘Superman. Yes, I know the lore... Cool name.’ she said as she stood up straight again.

‘Thanks.’ said Henry, observing how Kal sat himself down next to Devon, completely focused on her, and looking up at her with adoring eyes. ‘Uh, do you have experience with handling dogs?’

‘Oh, uh... Well, I used to. My dad impulse-bought three chihuahuas for me when I was about thirteen.’

‘Chihuahuas.’ Henry deadpanned, and incredulous look on his face.

‘Yes. Chihuahuas. Don’t underestimate them because of their size. Those little critters are vicious little masterminds. They think they’re ten times bigger than they actually are, and are thrice as smart as you think they are. If you don’t train them correctly, they can turn into little nightmares, getting themselves into trouble at every turn, and yapping loudly at any perceived threat or interesting stimulant. So, when they were still pups, I took them, and my dad, to dog training when it became clear my dad just let them do as they wanted while I was at school, to the detriment of any visitors, and the mailman.’ Looking down at an adoring Kal, she smiled. ‘I guess my experience as a chihuahua pack leader also works on big dogs.’

‘Chihuahua pack leader?’ The laugh in Henry’s voice made her grin.

‘Yup. They worshipped me. I was their uncontested goddess queen all throughout my teens and twenties.’ Sighing, she remembered the three spirited little dogs with fondness. ‘Two of them even made it to the ripe old age of sixteen.’

‘I think you’ve found yourself another worshipper.’ Henry nodded at where Kal had scooted close enough to her to be able to lean his seated weight against her leg as he looked up at her with complete and utter idolatry, his head rubbing against her hip as she absently scratched him behind the ears while she talked to his dad.

‘What a sell-out.’ Henry shook his head in mock disappointment and picked up their food from the side table. ‘When you two are done with your ridiculous getting-acquainted-cuddle-time, come find me. I’ll be plating this in the kitchen.’ With that, he disappeared through a doorway.

Devon looked down at the dog and snickered.

‘Sounds like your dad is a tiny bit jealous.’ she said to Kal, who answered her with a deep, almost surprised sounding ‘mrruf?’.

‘Am not!’ Henry called out from somewhere in the house, sounding quite offended at her statement.

Laughing at his disgruntled tone, Devon followed the sound of his voice from the hallway into the house; Kal hot on her heels.

‘Oh, you _so_ are!’ she called back in response as she walked through a sitting room of reasonable size, which had a modern, but still very cozy, laid-back atmosphere; its main focal point a huge, very comfy looking double-corner sofa sitting opposite a dark green wall with a big flatscreen tv attached to it. Underneath the tv stood a low dresser-like cabinet which, knowing FaustusX, undoubtedly hid various multimedia equipment and several game consoles behind its doors. Another wall of the room was all bookcase, filled with all kinds of fantasy book series and the odd thriller here and there, she even spotted a few romance and urban fantasy books. A few shelves had been reserved for fantasy, computer-game and movie paraphernalia.

_Heh, cool._

‘You have a beautiful house.’ she said when she walked into the kitchen. ‘It’s not too big for you and Kal, and it feels like a real home for you two, instead of being a pompously decorated, rich celebrity show-home. You see so many of those around London these days it’s becoming ridiculous.’

‘Thanks.’ Henry said from where he stood behind a kitchen island, putting garlic bread into a bread basket. Devon noticed he’d nonchalantly thrown his jacket and scarf over one of the kitchen island’s stools; his cap and sunglasses discarded on top of them. ‘I knew this was the home for us the moment I saw it. I don’t need much room for just myself, anyway. On this floor, it’s just the sitting room, dining kitchen, a small utility room and loo, and the garage for my car. Upstairs, I’ve got my bedroom, a study, the bathroom, and a guest bedroom with french doors which open up onto a roof terrace; and downstairs, in the basement, I have a small gym, and then my computer set-up in a separate room down there, too. Though that last one could have also fit in my study. To be honest, the house is probably bigger than I really need.’

The nerd inside Devon perked up at the mention of a computer room.

‘Computer set-up?’ she inquired, her voice betraying her curiosity.

Henry’s eyes crinkled in amusement at her question.

‘Leave it to you to skip the whole house tour story and jump straight to the important bits.’ He suddenly grinned a wicked grin. ‘I like the way you prioritise my hardware.’

Devon blinked at him.

_The fuck? Did he really just say that?!_

When he looked at her with one challenging eyebrow raised, she couldn’t hold in a snort of surprised laughter.

‘ _Shit_ , you really are FaustusX, aren’t you? The master of double entendres.’

‘What? You actually doubted that?’

‘Nah, I recognised you as Faust the moment I heard your voice in the pub. Just before I got distracted by your face, _Pretty Boy_.’ she teased.

‘You really have to stop that, Dev.’ Henry rumbled as he put down the spoon he’d been using to heap some kind of bolognese pasta onto a deep plate, calling her by the shortened version of her name -which also happened to be the shortened version of her WoW name by design-. It was the first time he’d purposely called her by her name -she didn’t really count the times he’d incredulously and repeatedly said her full name and surname during their introduction-, and a delighted tingle ran down her spine at hearing her name spoken by that deep voice.

‘Stop what?’ she asked innocently. Maybe a bit too innocently. She’d probably laid the guilelessness on slightly too thick.

Suppressing a snicker, she stepped up next to him and opened up one of the food containers he’d pulled out of the plastic bags, checking its contents. Its scent was heavenly.

‘Oh my god, this smells _so good!_ ’ she exclaimed enthusiastically, her teasing mood forgotten for the moment as her stomach clenched hungrily in expectation of the incredibly tasty food. Before her companion could stop her, she’d grabbed a fork from the kitchen counter top, speared a small piece of what looked like broiled chicken breast drenched in some kind of garlic-y sauce to its prongs, and put it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed in delight at the all the different flavours exploding on her tongue as she chewed and swallowed. 

She heard Henry grumble something, but she was distracted and didn’t really catch what he said.

The food-induced distraction cost her dearly.

Or maybe it yielded more than it cost. Depended how you looked at it.

Two thickly muscled arms boxed her in between the kitchen island and a large body, which suddenly stood at her back.

Devon froze as she opened her eyes and took in the change in circumstances.

 _Uh-oh, we’re in trouble…_ her mind hilariously provided a sing-song-y voice, throwing around the lyrics and melody of Shampoo’s hit song from the nineties. She snorted quietly at the weird randomness of it.

‘You know, you shouldn’t steal people’s food, it’s not nice.’ Henry rumbled softly from behind her.

Devon bit her lip at hearing the deep, deep timbre of his voice, an explosion of butterflies going frantic inside her stomach in reaction to it.

_Fucking hell._

‘It isn’t?’ she squeaked as she turned around in the space Henry had left her, cursing the sudden break in her voice betraying her nerves, and looked up at his face. It was closer than she’d expected it to be.

_Oh, my…_

He hummed low in answer to her question, his pronounced jaw straining as the muscles worked under the taut skin, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in through his nose, and his gaze burning into hers from heavy-lidded bedroom-eyes.

_Oh… my…_

‘And you also shouldn’t make those sounds you just made, when eating someone else’s food.’ He took a small step towards her, towering over her, crowding her.

She leaned back against the kitchen counter, tilting her head backwards slightly to keep his face in focus. A warm glow of arousal settled low in her abdomen.

_Fuuuuuck_

‘I shouldn’t?’ The question came out a bit breathless. D _ammit._ She was fighting so hard to keep her cool.

‘You shouldn’t. Because a person could become very tempted to show the mighty Devillmorne how much of a _Pretty_ ** _Boy_** he definitely. **_not_** _._ is…’

‘A… person?’

‘As in, _me_.’ He leaned in even closer to her, his gaze flicking to her mouth for a split second before returning to her dark brown eyes; his face so close to hers she could feel his breath on her skin.

_Holy fuck… is he going to k-_

‘You’re not a boy?’ She interrupted her own train of thought because she just _had_ to poke the bear. In spite of the heated tension growing between them, she just couldn’t help herself. ‘Could’ve fooled me…’ Raising a challenging eyebrow at him, Devon’s lips pulled up in a defiant half-smile as her eyes flicked down and up over his overly masculine physique. ‘Well, to each their own, I guess. I won’t judge.’

‘Cheeky girl.’ The appreciative murmur was a breath against her lips a second before his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that was softer and more tentative and exploring than she would have expected from his dominant posturing in the minutes leading up to it.

Not that she was complaining. Nope. No complaints, whatsoever.

Because, _Jaysus Flippin’ Christ_ , she was being kissed silly by the man who had been a battle buddy and a friend to her for the past five years -and, yeah, okay, she was also being kissed by Henry _freaking_ Cavill, pretty boy extraordinaire-, and she liked it, a _lot._ That one kiss flipped her world upside down. The sweetness of it, while at the same time it felt so hot and heavy, sent her into a chaotic tailspin of needing more and wanting it to last forever.

At the same instant he deepened the kiss, and she made a soft mewling noise against his lips, a very loud gurgling sound rumbled up from the direction of her empty stomach.

Henry froze against her, and for a breath or two he didn’t move. Then, he slowly pulled away from her and looked down at her tummy with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

‘What the hell was that?’

‘Oh my god.’ Devon buried her face against his upper chest, her cheeks heating up in mortification. ‘I’m _so_ sorry.’

Henry’s arms slid around her and he hugged her against him. She could feel his body shake with suppressed laughter.

‘How long has it been since you’ve eaten anything?’

_Fuck… He smells_ **_so_ ** _good…_

_What is that scent?_

_Sandalwood?…_

‘Twoyearsfourmonths.’ she mumbled distractedly against his very soft, very sexy, light-grey henley shirt.

‘That’s a very random, and a strangely specific answer at the same time.’ Henry sounded puzzled, and amused; his warm tone full of humour.

Devon blinked when his response rumbled through his chest and vibrated through her body, pulling her out of her own headspace. Her eyes widened when she realised she’d probably been mumbling completely random shit that had popped up into her head while she was distracted by his hug, and his scent, and his strength, and his- Oh, shut up _, you tart, and focus!_

_Shit. What did I just say to him?_

_What is it he asked again?!_

_Fuck… Did I just blurt out the time it’s been since I had my last boyfriend… hook-up… alright, it was a one-night-stand._ No lying to herself. _Ugh, that one really sucked. Just like the one before. No wonder it’s been so long. It’s just not worth the hassle if you always end up disappointed, is it?_

With some effort, she pulled her blushing face away from Henry’s impressively wide chest, and took in his expression of patient curiosity.

_Oh, right. He asked me… What?_

‘Uh…’ Still not having the foggiest idea what it was he’d asked her, she decided to keep her answer… simplistic. ’I… guess?’

‘Well, we should make sure we get some food in you, then. Before you keel over from starvation.’ Henry chuckled.

_Oh. Right… He asked me when I last ate… Duh!_

‘Uh, yeah. Good idea.’ She awkwardly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear with her fingers and she avoided his gaze.

When she started to turn back towards the food on the counter Henry’s hand shot out and stopped her from doing so. He looked very solemn when she looked back up at him.

‘Hey.’ he said quietly. ‘I’m sorry if I overstepped any boundaries… With the kiss, I mean.’

She was quick to reassure him. Because, god, their kiss had been the most arousing action she’d had in ages.

‘Oh, no, you didn’t… I mean… it’s fine.’

_Shit, how do you even word such a thing delicately and nicely without it either sounding like a half-hearted shrug-off or like you can’t wait to jump someone’s bones?! There’s just no middle ground, dammit._

Devon frowned in disappointment at her own lukewarm response and decided she would just have to throw herself into the deep end. Sink or swim. ‘Okay. That was a shite answer… Here’s the truth. It wasn’t just fine. It was fantastic. And I don’t regret even one second of it.’ Nodding to herself, she pulled a determined face to mirror her determined mood.

Henry grinned at hearing her final answer. He looked relieved.

‘So… You wouldn’t be opposed to a repeat performance?’

The hopeful tone of his voice made her smile mischievously, the naughty little demon residing among all her other personality traits pushing at her to aggravate him just a bit more.

‘We shall see…’ she bit her lip and raised a challenging eyebrow at him before delivering the final blow, ‘… _Pretty Boy_.’

With a low growl, Henry wrapped both arms around her and lifted her up against him, burying his face against her neck while one of his big hands slid to her jean-clad bum to support her weight against him. Almost automatically, she hooked her legs around his hips and bunched her fingers into the cloth of his shirt to keep her balance.

She really got a taste of the incredible strength his solid body harnessed when he kept her elevated with one hand under her bum and one on her back without any sign of strain in his stance or his voice.

Well, not strain as in the sense of muscle fatigue. Other strain? Yup, definitely.

‘You, _Devil_ Miller, are playing with fire.’ he rumbled against her neck, and gave the skin just below her left ear a sharp little nip before soothing the sting with an openmouthed kiss.

‘Th…the… name is Devon.’ she stuttered out breathlessly, defiant till the end.

‘No, I’m pretty sure it’s Devil.’ He groaned when she tightened her legs on his waist in reaction to him placing a nibbling kiss to her jaw. ‘You love the art of torture, _and_ playing with fire too much for your name to be _anything_ else.’

She snickered in spite of the incredible lust coursing through her veins, and once again, her smart-mouthed attitude ran away with her brain.

‘Oooooh. You found me out, _Witcher_. Whatcha gonna do now? Kill me dead?’

Henry stilled, and breathed in deeply next to her ear, giving her goosebumps.

‘Hmmm. No. I know of a better path to... divert you from your wicked ways.’

Why did his voice drop to such a gravelly rumble all of a sudden? It did tingly things to her insides she hadn’t expected, and she just _knew_ he had felt the full body shiver which had gone through her at hearing the almost impossibly deep, raspy voice he’d put on. The spasm had been hard to miss.

Pulling back to look him in the face, she stared at him with wide eyes.

‘What the _fuck_ was _that?!_ ’

He grinned at her with glee.

‘Geralt of Rivia.’

‘What do you mean, Geralt of Rivia?’

The smile melted from Henry’s face, and he frowned in confusion.

‘That’s Geralt’s v-... Wait... You haven’t seen the trailer?’

‘Uh... No. I’ve intentionally been avoiding seeing anything Witcher related. I wanted to be surprised when the series dropped on Netflix.’ Devon wetted her lips and slid her arms around his neck for extra support. ‘You mean to say, that _that_ was Geralt’s voice?! You talk like that for an entire series?!’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh my god, you _murderer!_ ’ she exclaimed, sounding indignant and poking him in the shoulder with a finger.

‘What?’ He chuckled at her obvious overreaction.

‘You’re gonna knock ‘em dead with that voice... The women, I mean... And probably not a small amount of men, too... Everyone. You’re gonna kill _everyone_ with that voice.’ She sighed dramatically. ‘Including _me_.’

Whatever he was going to say next got nipped in the bud by another loud growl from her stomach. Instead of reacting to her dramatic words, he shook his head with a chuckle and changed the subject.

‘Not if food depravation kills you first. Come on, let’s get some food into you.’

He gently set her back down on her feet, kissed her lightly on the nose, and gestured to one of the containers.

‘The salmon tagliatelle is in that one.’ He handed her a plate and some cutlery. ‘Now, plate your food and stop stealing mine.’

‘Aw... But where’s the fun in that?’ she complained.

‘You have a strange notion of what is and what isn’t “fun”.’ Henry shook his head and smiled, showing her he liked her sense of humour and didn’t mind her inclination towards teasing. ‘So, where do you want to eat? We can stay here and sit at the table, or we can veg out on the sofa and watch a movie or something.’

‘Oh, would you mind it very much if we just vegged out? I’ve been on my feet since early morning. It’s been pretty stressful and busy with a very hefty business meeting this morning and then the meet-up in the afternoon... I’m beat, to be honest.’

‘Sure. Vegging on the sofa it is, then.’

With a plate full of Italian food in one hand, and a glass of water in the other, Devon made herself comfortable in the corner of the corner sofa a few minutes later; Henry setting himself down beside her and pulling the square metal and glass coffee table towards them. After he’d set down his own food and drink, he took the glass of water from her and placed it onto the table where she could still reach it.

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’

They decided on watching a movie while they ate, but neither of them paid it much attention; the conversation they struck up about their lives and their families and friends much more interesting and compelling than any movie could ever be.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was time for Kal -who had been lounging and snoring on the sofa, on top of Devon’s socked feet- to have a walk. The dog jumped down from the sofa and padded to the front door, barking out a ‘moof’ to let them know he had to go out.

Devon, who had snuggled herself cosily into the pillows of the sofa, yawned and stretched.

‘I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to take this as my cue to exit stage left.’ she said, looking at Henry to gauge his reaction to her words. ‘I have to attend a couple of online business meetings early tomorrow morning, and I have to be reasonably rested to bring those to their desired conclusions.’

She liked him a _lot;_ both their senses of humour aligned like nobody’s business, and their conversation had been full of laughter and teasing -though they’d also broached a few heavier topics, like how Devon’s mother had passed away when she had been in her early teens-, and fuck, the pull she felt towards him was insane, but she wasn’t ready to take it to the next level… yet.

Thankfully, Henry didn’t make a fuss about it. He just nodded without saying anything, and stood, holding out a hand to help her up from the sofa.

‘Alright, Kal and I will walk you to the tube; make sure you get there safely.’

When she got to her feet, he pulled her up against him, one of his hands on the small of her back, and the other one caressing her cheek, before he dipped down his head and kissed her deeply, thoroughly; taking her breath away.

_Ohfuckohfuckohfuuuck…_

Leaning into him, she pushed up onto her toes and reciprocated the kiss with unbridled enthusiasm - _fuck going home, I’m staying right here-_ ; her arms sliding around his neck to pull him even closer to her. Shit, she wanted to climb him like a tree and never let go. It seemed he was of a same mind. The hand on her back slid down to her bum and he started to lift her to get better access to her lips; their height difference making it slightly difficult to keep kissing without one of them getting a crack in the neck.

Before the whole thing could get out of hand -the jury was still out on if that was a good or a bad thing-, they were interrupted by an impatient bark from Kal, who restlessly paced in front of the front door.

Panting, they pulled apart.

‘Oh, right. Dog.’ said Devon, sounding out of breath and slightly distracted as she bit her lip and looked up at Henry. At the same time Henry mumbled a ‘ _Fuck._ ’, and she could only wholeheartedly agree.

Another impatient bark, which sounded a bit more desperate than the previous one, had them both hurrying to the entrance hallway.

Within thirty seconds, they had dressed for the cold weather outside and put on their shoes; Devon hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders while Henry clipped Kal’s lead onto his collar.

It took them only ten minutes to reach the underground station at Gloucester Road, even with Kal stopping and sniffing and doing his business at every other tree they passed in the streets.

The time to say goodbye came much too soon for Devon’s liking.

This late at night, it was a bit more quiet than it would have been during the day, but even under the cover of darkness and with a baseball cap placed firmly over his brow, Henry was a striking figure, and drew attention. She had already seen a couple of passers-by do a double take when they recognised him.

‘So… I reckon kissing you out in the open like this is a bit of a risk?’ she asked when they were stood in front of the entrance of the Underground.

Henry sighed and grimaced.

‘It could be, yes. Not that I care if anyone sees, they already know me and I’m pretty used to being stared at, but paparazzi can really make your life hell if they find out who _you_ are… Sorry.’

Shaking her head, Devon smiled.

‘It’s okay. Just a hug, then?’ She held her arms wide and he didn’t even hesitate to wrap her up in a big, strong hug.

‘I had a great time tonight.’ Henry said when he pulled back, seemingly loathe to let her go completely, because he kept his hands on her upper arms as he spoke to her.

Devon nodded.

‘Yes, me too.’ She looked away shyly from his intense gaze and smiled.

Then her eye fell on the electronic bulletin board inside the station.

_Shit._

‘I, uh, I really hate to cut this short, but my train’s about to arrive.’

Henry stepped back, smiling.

‘Of course.’

Devon gave him another quick hug, and Kal a pet on the head, and then she was off, scanning her Oyster card at one of the gates allowing her entrance to the tube.

‘See you!’ She called back at the pair watching her go.

Henry suddenly took a step forward, his expression alarmed.

‘Wait!’ he called out. ‘I don’t have your phone number. How can I reach you?’

Turning around on the escalator taking her down into the station, she snickered at his sudden, completely unfounded panic.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow night, silly! Come find me during the raid!’ With a small wave she disappeared from his sight. ‘See you later… _Pretty Boy!_ ’ Her happy, teasing voice echoed through the station, and his laughter at her cheekiness followed her down to the platforms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Kudos, Comments, all are welcome. :)
> 
> Until next time!


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